


Seven Children

by easternCriminal



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Found Family, Gen, kind of, pacifist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-10
Updated: 2018-11-10
Packaged: 2019-08-21 15:42:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16579403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/easternCriminal/pseuds/easternCriminal
Summary: Monsterkind is trusting on him to do what needs to be done. His trident is a pulsing red of blood. Asgore lowers it, and envelops the small child into a hug.Asgore adopts seven children





	Seven Children

Patience came to him first, almost poetically, after decades of waiting. She is careful and deliberate as she walks across the judgement hall, bright ribbon seeming to glow, and her soul radiating a soft blue light. She looks at him, face serious, and says that she wants to go home. He replies that they all do. With a shaking hand, he pulls out his trident, facing her as she shivers in the cold of the room before the barrier. 

"Why can’t you just allow me to pass?" She asks, and he shakes his head, voice wavering.

"There is no way, we have not found a way." Then, voice stubborn, she replied, small form gazing up at him. 

“Then I will wait until you have found a way"

Monsterkind is trusting on him to do what needs to be done. His trident is a pulsing red of blood. Asgore lowers it, and envelops the small child into a hug.

Patience lives with him in New Home, taking up residence in Chara and Asriel’s room. He is almost unsurprised when she mentions Toriel, that she is living in their old house in the ruins. She had fled from him when he had declared his desire to kill the humans that fell down, terrified at the darkness he had shown her that day. He couldn’t blame her, still had a hard time forgiving himself for the awful decree. Should he want to, Asgore could run to the ruins, bound through the door, and ask for forgiveness form Toriel, but is he really deserving of such a thing? There are two graves between them now, forever. He sits in the living room and gazes longingly at Toriel’s chair, until a small figure hops up onto it.

“Read me a story, Asgore?” Patience asks. He smiles and hefts her onto his lap, pulling one of Asriel’s favorites from the bookshelf.

 

Bravery is next, frowning and gritting his teeth at Asgore, constantly looking from the Boss Monster to the Barrier, as if he could make a break for it. He might not even know that he can’t get through on his own. Asgore wonders, briefly, if he should really do it this time. Take the human’s soul. Then he can cross over and murder six other humans. Save all of the Underground. Bravery resolutely steps forwards and tries to punch Asgore into submission. It is a light tap, basically nothing - the poor child must have no EXP.

Surely Patience wouldn’t mind having to share the room. 

 

Patience and Bravery get along like peas in a pod. He tries to keep them where the other monsters won’t see them - he knows how much the death of his children affected the underground, and he’s still unsure how they will take to him taking in the young humans. Instead they play in his yard, running around and giggling, and watching the two of them brings back memories. Not in a bad way, but in a nostalgic, heartwarming way. His house, which once seemed to echo with his loneliness, instead is filled with happiness. To his dismay, neither of them take well to his proposed snail recipes.

 

Integrity walks through the Judgement hall almost soundlessly, her ballet shoes looking worn down and sad. Tutu stained and torn up. It is a long trek from the ruins to the castle, and it’s clear that she had been ill equipped to handle it. Her soul is a deep blue, and when she faces up against him, part of him wants to reach out to hold it in his hand, so honest and pure is this soul. Instead he asks her to give him a minute as he turns around to face the Barrier. Perhaps part of him wishes that while he is turned, she will take her chance and take his life so that she might go to wherever home is for her, for surely she must have one. But she is Integrity. Of course she does not. There is still room for more children in the house, perhaps she can sleep with Patience and Bravery, or in the living room. He is relieved when she accepts. 

Bravery is excited at the prospect of a new friend, and demands that they need a new place to play now that there are three of them - ‘enough for a team’ he says - and so Asgore goes to the big tree in front of the house and builds them a fort, big enough to hold them and then some. The work takes a while, but it’s a welcome change of pace. They all take to it instantly, and Integrity comes up with passwords that they can use to get up. They’re posted on the fridge everyday, but Asgore always forgets them - he doesn’t need them though when he’s delivering snacks - they’re willing forego protocol if it’s for apples and cheese.

 

Perseverance seems to have had the toughest travel out of all the kids, and comes into the throne room limping and on the verge of tears, adjusting their glasses nervously at Asgore’s big form. It hurts his heart to see it, and he instantly takes up the child into his arms to carry him back to New Home, setting him down on a counter and pulling out a well used first aid kit. The boy is jittery around Asgore and clearly doesn’t trust him. He says so himself, and stutters that there is no evidence that Asgore can be trusted. The King cannot find it in himself to blame him. But then Integrity walks in for a juice box and sees the new boy, face brightening almost instantly. She talks about how great it will be to have a new brother, how she simply must get the others to meet him, and runs out of the room. Perseverance nods his head slowly and leans into Asgore before finally letting out a small whimper as he allows himself to feel safe.

Asgore makes a public statement that future humans are to be carefully and gently guided to the castle, end of the discussion.

The children need more room to play, and there is already a mostly empty room just down from the throne room. The only thing that rests there is Chara’s empty coffin. It is a few weeks after Perseverance joins their little family, squeezed into Asriel and Chara’s room with the rest, that he tells them the tale of his other children. He sees that the youngest don’t quite get it, is just barely too young to fully grasp death, but Bravery makes him brownies that night and Patience sits in his lap like when she was little at the bedtime story that night. The next day he takes the coffin out of the room and buries it in his garden. The room will have better use as a playroom anyway.

 

Kindness comes to offer up their soul. They hold it out to Asgore, even as their eyes begin to fill with tears. 

“For the good of the Underground.” They say, lip quivering. “For a happy ending.” Asgore cannot stand to see such a young child bear such a weight and quickly wraps him in a hug and takes him back to the throne room, the pair sitting in the leaves and drinking tea - well, Asgore drinks the tea, the small child dislikes the bitter taste and instead opts for a juice box - and Asgore extends his offer to let the child stay with him. The small one sits there for a moment, thinking hard, plucking at the grass, before leaning his head onto Asgore knee and declaring that he will only if he gets a nap first.

There is no longer enough room for the children in his children’s old room. Asgore takes a deep breath and opens up Toriel’s room with a duster in one hand a vacuum in the other. He boxes things up and stores them away, buys a few more bunk beds and puts them in, filling the room with dressers and toys until there is no residual evidence of the dark and mournful memories. When he opens it up to his children they are excited and, and Integrity and Bravery even make ‘carpet angels’ on the floor. 

Integrity tells him he needs to come out to the underground about his children, and while he agrees he decides it’s best to start small. He introduces Undyne, who is like a daughter to him, to the children. The shock takes a while to set in, but she warms up to them quickly, as he knew she would. Particularly her and Bravery and Perseverance get along marvelously, enjoying training. Kindness is appalled at her cooking style, but loves her all the same. 

Perseverance takes him aside, soul glowing brightly, and whispers that they have an idea.

 

Justice enters the throne room full of fury and fear, soul out like a weapon, holding a small toy gun up in shaking hands. 

“Is it true,” They ask. “...that you are the one that devours humans? That eats kids?” Asgore wants to tell him no, but before he can try to assuage the small child’s fears there is the sound of laughter and Kindness and Patience pop out from behind the throne where they had been hiding for a rousing game of hide and seek that had been going on, and inform the young one that he couldn’t be farther from the truth. Shocked, Justice takes off their hat and bows their head, apologizing for the misconception. Asgore just laughs,a  hearty thing that fills up his chest, and pats the young one on the head. 

Perseverance has been working with Gaster and Alphys, and after some research, Asgore has allowed Patience to assist them in their research as she is the oldest and can make the decision on whether something is dangerous or not. He helps her to practice, to practice magic, the same kind that the mages that locked them away down here did eons ago. When she succeeds for the first time, his heart swells so much he cannot put it to words. 

Once it is clear that it is safe, the other children are quickly put onto similar training sessions. It is fascinating to watch their progress. Some magics that younger ones find easier to do as they are more malleable, others the older children take to as they are used to the Underground and the ways of magic from being around the king. They begin to fill into accomplished and intelligent mages, and the prospect of escaping seems suddenly incredibly close. All that’s left is one soul… Asgore tries not to think too long on his dearly departed child.

 

When Asgore looks in the mirror there are flecks of grey in his beard.

 

Determination comes last, through the Judgement hall, and faces him. 


End file.
